In The Pipeline - Playoff Preview

We’re back with a special edition of In The Pipeline, where we’ll offer up Part 2 of our video series looking into several LA prospects at the forward position and share a myriad of written tidbits on more than 15 other players – several of whom will begin the playoffs this week in their respective leagues across the globe.

It’s also worth noting, any commentary about a player’s future is purely speculative based upon current information available. Things are always subject to change based upon individual performance and/or future organizational needs.

Last time around, we shined a heavy spotlight on forwards Liam Greentree, Ryan Conmy, and Koehn Ziemmer in our video series, LINKED HERE. Now, we turn our attention to a slightly different trio, three players who are set to begin their 2025 quest for an NCAA National Championship: Kenny Connors (University of Massachusetts), along with James Reeder and Jared Wright (Denver University). Each have unique and varied skillsets, with Wright looking to repeat as a National Champion and Reeder and Connors both in search of their first.

Connors helped lead UMass back to the NCAA playoffs for a second straight season. They’ll begin with Game 1 of their journey later on today. Last year, they lost to Denver in their opening game, so his Minutemen squad is eager to get back to the Frozen Four for the third time in the past six tournaments. Speaking of Denver, Wright will be looking to get his Pioneers back to the title game – and he’s bringing Reeder, a freshman, along for the ride. DU will begin their defense of last year’s crown with an opening round contest against Providence on Friday afternoon.

More on this full group can be found below in video form!

FORWARDS

Martin Chromiak (AHL) – Things are certainly looking up lately for the 22-year-old Slovak. He entered play on Wednesday coming off a three-point night in Iowa last weekend and has totaled six points (2G, 4A) in his past five games. Additionally, he was promoted to coach Marco Sturm’s top line following Jeff Malott’s NHL recall. Still on pace to establish new career highs in goals and assists at the AHL level, Chromiak seems intent to make sure management has nothing but positive reports once his three-year entry-level contract expires this summer. Since our last report, he’s upped his points-per-game to .52, still tops among all Kings prospects playing in the AHL this season. Ontario has 10 games remaining on their regular season slate, split evenly at five home and five road. They’re currently fighting for home-ice advantage in Round 1 of the Calder Cup Playoffs.

Ryan Conmy (NCAA) – His season is already over, as New Hampshire did not qualify for the 16-team NCAA tournament field. Following a first -ound exit in the Hockey East tournament, Conmy’s season concluded with 33 points (15G, 18A) in 34 games, one goal and one assist better than his excellent freshman campaign in 2023-24. He’s currently resting up and will begin training soon for Development Camp in July, where he should be one of the stand-out players for a third straight summer.

Liam Greentree (OHL) – Be sure to watch our recent video on Greentree linked HERE, filled with information on the impressive young forward. Considered LA’s No. 1 prospect right now, the 6-foot-3 winger did not disappoint during Windsor’s recently completed regular season. He finished Top-5 in the OHL for goals (49) and points (119). The Spitfires captain was denied his shot at reaching the 50-goal mark via a two-game suspension that ended his regular season run a tad too early. Fear not, though, the captain of the Spirtfires is expected to resume his spot in the lineup come Thursday when his team opens their best-of-seven, first-round series vs. the Soo Greyhounds. After amassing 96 points (45-17-4-2) and winning the West Division, Windsor enters postseason action as the Western Conference’s second seed.

Aatu Jamsen (AHL) – The 22-year-old Finn continues to adjust in his first year in North America, after playing two prior seasons back home in Liiga. With an assist last weekend and a goal earlier this month, Jamsen slowly continues to add to his point total. While his offensive numbers don’t jump off the page quite yet, this highly creative forward has already shown his flexibility for Ontario this season, having freely been moved between center and wing. Expectations should be managed for a young player coming over from Europe, yet the optimism is still there, as it shines through brightly on occasion.

Koehn Ziemmer (WHL) – With 37 goals in 61 regular-season games, this is the moment Ziemmer has really been waiting for. It will be his final postseason run in the WHL, as he’ll be turning pro over the summer and most likely be joining AHL-Ontario for next season. His Prince George Cougars finished second in their division and will begin a best-of-seven series with Portland this weekend. The same two teams met in the Western Conference Championship last year, with Prince George eliminated in double overtime of Game 6. Don’t think that topic won’t surface plenty in the days ahead. This should be a battle for the ages, with Ziemmer front and center in most of the action. All WHL playoff games are available free to stream via a new partnership with Victory+.

DEFENSEMEN

Angus Booth (AHL) – Unfortunately, we remain in a holding pattern with the first-year pro. One of Ontario’s most trusted rear guards for much of 2024-25, Booth has been sidelined since suffering an injury in mid-February. While an official timeline for his return has not been established, there quietly remains hope that the 20-year-old defenseman will return in time for the playoffs. We’ll have to see about that, though, as time is ticking. Either way, he’s advanced his way up the Kings prospect rankings, something we discussed during a previous “In The Pipeline” episode HERE.

Jakob Dvorak (AHL) – As noted in earlier reports, he’s a rare 19-year-old in the AHL, something made possible because he was drafted out of a European league rather than college hockey or a Canadian major junior league. Standing 6-foot-4 without skates, the lanky defender has shown progress this season in his overall development. Like Booth above, Dvorak was also featured in that linked video. Patience will likely be the key with LA’s top draft selection (second round) from 2023. Known more for his defensive prowess, we’ll at least mention that he’s yet to record a goal in his first AHL season. A happy-go-lucky guy by nature, we can only imagine the big smile he’ll flash should he pot one over the final 10 games coming up.

Jack Sparkes (NCAA) – Clarkson came close to qualifying for the NCAA playoffs. They made it all the way to the ECAC conference tournament final, before falling short to Cornell. It was a fine season for the 6-foot-8 (and 243 lbs!) rear guard. Although we noted in our last update that ‘patience is the key here,’ it will certainly be interesting to track any improvements in his game at LA Development Camp in July. He was talked about quite a bit by the coaches following last summer’s event.

Jared Woolley (OHL) – How high are the Kings on this 19-year-old defenseman originally selected at last summer’s NHL Draft? Well, just this week, they signed him to a three-year, entry-level contract. That’s rather unheard of for a sixth-round pick to get a deal already. Yet, if you watched the above linked In The Pipeline video, the signs were there. His skills have been on full display all season in the OHL, where the London Knights ran way with the 2024-25 regular season championship. They’ll now look to get back to the Memorial Cup again, beginning with an opening round series vs. Owen Sound this weekend.

GOALTENDING

Carter George (OHL) – After all the talk about George returning from his stint with Team Canada and essentially putting Owen Sound on his back to carry them into the OHL playoffs......well, he did it. Finishing with more losses than wins (a 26-35-4-3 record), the Attack will now be rewarded for their heroic efforts down the stretch with a Round 1 series against a London team that only faced defeat 11 times in regulation all year. Coming into this true David vs. Goliath matchup, George has already faced the most shots in the league this season (1665) while only playing the ninth most minutes. Should Owen Sound’s magical playoff run end early, we’ll have to see if young George has enough energy left to join AHL Ontario for a little more hockey before his summer training begins.

Erik Portillo (AHL) – We wish there was more positive news to share right now. In late January, the 24-year-old netminder was banged up during a start in Calgary and hasn’t returned to the lineup since. Ontario Reign Head Coach Marco Sturm is certainly hopeful that this LA prospect can make his way into the crease for Ontario’s playoff run. We’ll have to wait and see.

Hampton Slukynsky (NCAA) – If we were to re-record our "In the Pipeline" video on LA’s trio of goaltending prospects, we’d have even more praise to heap his way. Slukynsky has continued to add to his already long list of accolades with a nomination for 2025 NCHC Goaltender of the Year. After backstopping his Western Michigan squad to a conference tournament championship – in an absolute barnburner of a game, won 4-3 in double overtime against Denver – Slukynsky and the Broncos now have their eyes set on a much bigger prize - namely, a national championship. Earning that opportunity won’t be easy, though. If they advance past their opening game in the NCAA playoffs, they could be facing Connors and UMass in the region’s final this Saturday. Then, if everything falls this way in one of the other regionals, WMU and Denver could potentially meet up again in the Frozen Four on April 10 – with a spot in the NCAA title game on the line. Oh boy!